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Kaeden's Commitment

by Draugr

Chapter XXIII: Forever Young

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This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Two days after his birthday party, Kaeden had another sleepover scheduled. He was understandably nervous given his performance at the previous event, but Ashleigh reassured him that he would do just fine - and reminded him, yet again, that this wasn't something he could 'fail'. It was simply to gauge his progress.

When he returned, he was in noticeably high spirits, and couldn't wait to tell Ashleigh - and even Sonia - about his experience. Curiously enough, he had a pink ribbon tied in his headfur. He explained that the girls kept pestering him to let them play 'dress-up' - and although he wouldn't put up with wearing an_actual_dress, he did let them do up his hair.

Another month passed, during which Kaeden and Ashleigh both grew nervous about his progress - nothing new was coming from Chainbreakers Incorporated, and both of them were certain his graduation was near. His performance at the sleepover had shown he'd worked past his masculinity issues and his inability to trust others. One Friday morning, however, Ashleigh came in to breakfast beaming, laying down a letter on the table.

Although it had been a very long time since Kaeden had seen another letter like this - the one that Alex had received - he instantly knew what it was.

"Is... is that mine?" he asked, almost unwilling to believe it.

Ashleigh nodded. "Go ahead and open it, pup. You've more than earned it. And read it aloud. I'm excited to hear it, too!"

Dear Kaeden,

You may think this letter late in coming, but given your history of relapses in progress, we needed to ensure that what we all hoped was true: that your personal transformation was complete and permanent. I am pleased to say that you have swept away any doubts and are indeed a changed dog.

It has been a little over a year since you were enrolled in the Chainbreaker program. Though you initially showed severe resistance to the program, and later had difficulty showing meaningful progress, you stuck to your commitment and saw it through, and you grew to be proud, dignified, and true. Charges are carefully selected for each caregiver, but nobody here could have predicted how well Ashleigh worked with you. Be joyous and thankful of how hard she fought for your progress.

I'm proud to announce that as of today, we declare your link in the Chain as broken. You've managed to overcome your difficulties and reach your learning goals, and become a healthy person in the process. In other words: you have graduated!

Given your unusual length of stay in our program, I am graduating you with one caveat: a mandatory two-week additional stay with your caregiver to acclimate yourself to independent life. During this time you will re-learn basic life skills such as preparing your own food, independent decision making without your mother figure, and potty-training. If necessary, we will still provide you with a small stock of diapers and/or pull-ups after this period of time.

We hope that the rest of your life will be as fruitful as this special period, and that you'll always look back on the days you spent in our program with pride and satisfaction. In two weeks time, provided you've made the progress we all know you can, I'll mail your graduation certificate as well.

Enjoy your new life! May good fortune be with you, and may your guiding light be strong.

Sincerely,

Joseph Boden, Chainbreaker Handler

"I... I can't believe it," Kaeden said, jaw dropping.

Ashleigh moved over toward Kaeden's chair at the table, picking him up and setting the smaller dog in her lap.

"You've earned it," she said, hugging him tightly.

The Shepherd seemed noticeably depressed, despite the turn of events. Ashleigh picked up on this. "What's the matter, pup? Aren't you happy?"

"I am!" he exclaimed. "I'm glad I'm no longer the way I was, but, I just... " Kaeden leaned his head back into his caregiver's shoulder, sighing. "I don't want to leave my mommy behind," he said, blushing.

"Oh, Kaeden, puppy, this can't be forever. I'm going to really miss you too, but you have to grow up sometime. Besides, we still have another two weeks together. You'll be able to handle it by then, I promise."

"Can't I stay?" he asked quietly. "I won't interfere with other charges, and, and-"

"I'm afraid that's not how it works, Kaeden," Ashleigh interrupted softly. "You're a very special little boy, Kaeden, but you can't stay a puppy forever. But, I'll tell you what - if you promise to try really hard to learn how to live your life without me around, I'll try to arrange occasional visits for you."

"I can be your puppy again?" he asked, hopefulness creeping into his voice.

Ashleigh nodded. "But only if it won't hurt your emotional health. You can't be my puppy until you no longer_need_to be my puppy. Do you understand?"

Kaeden nodded. He looked over at Sonia, in the highchair, who had been silent through all this.

"Sonia? Are you okay? You haven't said a thing to me."

"I'm fine," she said, sullenly.

"No, pup, you're not," Ashleigh said. "You can tell us what is wrong. Neither of us will judge you, we promise."

Sonia chewed on her lower lip, but eventually spoke up. While she still found aspects of the program to be very unpleasant - especially using her diapers - she wasn't actively resisting, and she was even showing signs of bonding with both caregiver and sibling.

"I don't believe in any of this stuff," Sonia said. "Not yet, anyway. But Kaeden gives me something to look up to, and now he's going to be gone. Even if it's not for another couple weeks, there's still a final date to it. And now you're saying he can't come back until he doesn't need you anymore - but he always will! He calls you his mommy for heaven's sake!"

Kaeden and Ashleigh looked at each other.

"I know I can do this," the Shepherd said.

"I know you can do it," his caregiver said, at the same time. Both of them grinned, and gave each other another hug.

"Yeah, well," Sonia said, interrupting their 'moment', "I still don't like Kaeden not being around anymore."

"I can't stay forever, Sonia. Ashleigh is right," the Shepherd said. "Surely you don't need_me_?" he asked, with a hint of teasing in his voice.

"No!" she insisted, reeling back. "But with how you told me you were when you first woke up here, and how you are now, it just gives me something to think about, you know? Like, maybe I won't always be so miserable in all this."

"Hmm," Ashleigh said. "I can't let Kaeden come here until he doesn't need me, as I've said, but maybe I could let him call, and you could talk to him, if you really need it."

"I don't_need_it," she stressed, crossing her arms - looking exactly like the pouty baby she insisted she was most certainly not.

"Well, if you really_want_it then," Ashleigh said, with a knowing smile. "But you have to behave and focus on improving yourself for that. Deal?"

"Fine, it's a deal," Sonia groaned.

Ashleigh then reached down to unsnap Kaeden's shorts, sneaking a paw in to check his diaper, and finding him wet. "Now, while Sonia finishes her breakfast, I think a certain Shepherd needs his diaper changed, am I right?" she said, nuzzling the top of his head.

"Yes, Mommy," he said, ears flushing and laying flat.

"Don't be so glum, Kaeden. You've accomplished a great thing today. We should all be happy! Now come on, pup," she said. Kaeden took her paw, and allowed himself to be led to his nursery. Instead of simply changing him, however, Ashleigh walked him through each step in his diaper change, making sure he understood all the little things she did - where to apply the baby powder, and how much, or why she ran her fingers along his leg bands after she taped him into a clean diaper, or how to clean up after himself if he was messy, among other things.

"That's... a lot more complex than I thought," Kaeden said, after he was diapered and re-dressed. "I didn't know you were doing all that every time you changed me."

"Don't worry. I'll still change your diapers for another few days or so, but before next Friday I'd like you to start doing that yourself. A few days before then, I'll probably have you walk_me_through the process, to make sure you get it. Now, the second thing - you can still tell when you're going to be messy, right?"

Kaeden blushed at the topic, but nodded. "Maybe a little over five minutes, before it actually happens?" he said.

"Okay. Any time you get that feeling, come and get me, or just call out for me if you're in the playroom or in your crib. I'll unlock the hallway bathroom for you. I'd like you to focus on that before we worry about your wetting problems."

"How will that help me... y'know, hold it longer?"

"For the past year you haven't been thinking about the signals your body sends you, Kaeden. You didn't have any choice but to go in your diaper, so you have to retrain your brain to recognize those feelings sooner than it does now. It will happen, with time."

"What about, you know, the other thing."

"You're probably going to have to deal with wet diapers longer than another couple weeks, honey. Even charges that only stay a few months usually take a couple weeks or more to get potty-trained again, and you've been with me over an entire year. Like I said, let's just take one thing at a time. We want to get you as ready as possible to rejoin society."

"I guess, yeah," he said. "Can I have another muffin?" he asked. "I don't really like talking about bathroom stuff," he blushed.

"Of course, pup. If you think that's what you want."

Kaeden looked at his caregiver curiously. Normally she would have told him yes, and added in some remark that let him know it was_her_decision, not his. Now, it was the opposite.

"Part of growing up is making decisions on your own, and learning to live with the consequences. Now, having an extra muffin is hardly going to lead to any consequences, but I hope you understand the idea," she explained.

Kaeden shook his head. "This is all so much so fast," he said. "I know it's all just little stuff, but... I've been your puppy for over a year. It's like I've forgotten how to be an adult."

Ashleigh smiled down at him. "I don't think you were ever entirely an adult, Kaeden. Once you quit fighting you took to being my puppy more than any other charge I've had. Maybe I just had to awake a 'little' part of you," she said, emphasizing the double meaning. "But you still need to function as an adult. You'll get it, I know you will."

Kaeden nodded. "A year ago I was still thinking about escaping at any costs. I thought you and Rashid were a couple of perverts, deluding yourself into why kidnapping me and forcing me into all this puppy stuff was for_my_benefit, and not yours. Obviously, I couldn't have been more wrong."

Ashleigh nodded, and continued his thought for him. "So, just because you can't see the end result, doesn't mean it isn't there."

Kaeden nodded back. "I committed to this program long enough to finish. I'm going to commit to this to make sure Joseph can be proud of me. And you, and Rashid, and Sonia, and... and Lily," he said, with a small blush.

"If you're good," Ashleigh said, "and make some progress on your potty-training, maybe I can give you phone privileges so you can call her."

"Didn't I graduate, though?" Kaeden protested. "Shouldn't I be able to do that now?"

"Yes," Ashleigh said, nodding her head. "But you're still being weaned into growing back up, and today, you are still most definitely my puppy. And puppies don't get to use the phone. Like you said, this is overwhelming for you."

"Awww... ." Kaeden protested.

"Consider it motivation for quick progress."

"Yeah, I know... " the Shepherd sighed.

"Now, let's get you that extra muffin. And remember what we talked about - I'd like you to use the potty sometime today."

"You just don't want to change another messy diaper," he said, sticking his tongue out playfully.

"It's something you get used to," the Pyrenees said. "But it's still not any fun," she laughed. "If you're so eager to grow up, though, you can have some more adult responsibilities. Why don't you empty your diaper pail out in the garage trash can?"

"Awww, Mommy... " he groaned. "That's not what I meant."

"Being an adult isn't all fun and games, Kaeden. That's what being a puppy is for. When you grow up, you get to do more things, but you also have more responsibilities. You can rejoin me and Sonia in the kitchen when you're finished."

Ashleigh left, allowing Kaeden to complete his task alone. It didn't take him long, though it probably would have gone faster if he hadn't spent most of the time mentally complaining and delaying dealing with the unpleasant task. Still, once he had finished, it_did_sort of feel good. Taking his own diapers out was the first way he'd actually been allowed to care for himself in over a year.

Maybe he could get used to this 'adult responsibility' thing.